May be because we wanted to distinguish divisare from the web that is condemned to a sort of vertical communication, always with the newest architecture at the top of the page, as the "cover story," "the focus."

Content that was destined, just like the oh-so-new architecture that had just preceded it a few hours earlier, to rapidly slide down, day after day, lower and lower, in a vertical plunge towards the scrapheap of page 2.

So we began to build divisare not vertically, but horizontally.

Our model was the bookcase, on whose shelves we have gathered and continue to collect hundreds and hundreds of publications by theme. Every Collection in our Atlas tells a particular story, conveys a specific viewpoint from which to observe the last 20 years of contemporary architecture. A long, patient job of cataloguing, done by hand: image after image, project after project, post after post. Behind all this there is the certainty that we can do better than the fast, distracted web we know today, where the prevailing business model is: "you make money only if you manage to distract your readers from the contents of your own site." With divisare we want to offer the possibility, instead, of perceiving content without distractions. No "click me," "tweet me, "share me,” "like me." No advertising. banners, pop—ups or other distracting noise.

Cândido dos Reis

Refurbishment of a rundown 19th century three storey building, divided into three independent small modern apartments, one for accommodation of the owners and two for short-period rentals, while preserving the picturesque aura of the ensemble implanted in the city’s historical centre.

After a careful survey and analysis of the existing building by a specialized engineering team it was concluded that the construction was not structurally sound so a whole new resistant structure had to be erected, just preserving three of the outer walls: the main façade and the two party walls. From this starting point the main concepts were to de-compartmentalize the spaces and use built-in furniture to maximize free space as much as possible.

On the first floor, a one-bedroom apartment for the owners, the spaces were distributed around a built-in dividing volume containing office space and cupboards, while allowing for circulation between all the three compartments: the bedroom in a more quite and secluded area, the bathroom facing the street and a space for cooking-working-living-dining which can be completely open to the outside in order to take advantage of the new bigger garden in the back.

On the upper floor, accessible via an exterior staircase, the intention was to explore the apartment’s unique views over Porto’s World Heritage Site by implanting two symmetrical terraces on the roof while reinforcing the pre-existing axis of the gabled roof central space that accommodates the living-dining-sleeping functions and leaving the more “technical” areas to the sides, the kitchen and the bathroom.

Following the clients’ intentions of simplicity, the material pallete is very restrained with white (walls, ceilings and built in furniture) and different tones of grey (granite on the main façade, self-leveling floors, kitchen and bathroom counters) being the most present tones in the overall atmosphere punctuated by coloured furniture and traditional elements (hand made tiles on the main façade, patterned ceramic tiles on the terraces and kitchens).

The new divisare books are small format pocket-book size, in limited editions of 200 copies, high-resolution digital printed, bound, with a hardcover, finished in fine English paper. Titles on the cover are silver foil hot stamped. We attach great importance to the tactile quality of the book as an object as well as, of course, its contents. Unlike the web that runs fast and vanishes faster, leaving no trace, Our books have the aim of lasting in time. The idea is simple: printed paper instead of pixels; we just want to invite you to get away from the screens of your devices for a moment, to sit back in a favorite armchair and enjoy a good read, in the old fashioned way.

Help us swim against the tide.

Join us in taking a stand against the short attention architecture media.

Divisare is the result of an effort of selection and classification of contemporary architecture conducted for over twenty years. Patient work, done with care, image after image, project after project, to offer you the ideal tool with which to organize your knowledge of contemporary architecture. Instead of a quick, distracted web, we want a slow, attentive one. Instead of hastily perused information, we prefer knowledge calmly absorbed. This is why Divisare is a place to perceive architecture slowly, without distractions. No click — like — tweet — share, no advertising, banners, pop-ups. Just architecture, no more and no less. If you like what we’re doing, please Subscribe. You will get full access to divisare archive and you will help us keep the lights on.

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